Devouring Bael's Eye
The eerie light shimmering within Bael's pupil.
In the time it took to draw a single breath, a crimson ray sliced through space and arrived directly above Jinho's head.
-Danger…
Nyx’s urgent warning was swallowed by the blinding surge.
A scarlet beam pillar thirty meters wide erased everything it touched.
“Mister Yu!”
Madam’s cry echoed hollowly through the space where nothing remained.
Nadia flicked her waist-length hair aside with one hand and smiled sweetly.
“Hee hee. Not even a trace left.”
An artificial constellation crafted from the ‘concept’ of Baal, leader of Pandemonium.
Even the Void Realm synthesis array—woven from a thousand lives and the signature techniques of two factions—had only managed to summon the eye.
The preparations had been grueling, but the return on investment was undeniable.
Jinho, the man who had toyed with Purgatory Guardians like children, had been annihilated by a single direct hit.
‘Plenty of time to mop up the rest.’
Rene Davis was already extending his reach into the global underworld through Klyphoth’s two factions.
If they could eliminate the Dark Puppeteer here, Klyphoth would supplant the Black Network and seize dominion over every shadow on Earth.
The Void Realm Otherworld Temple still had over an hour and a half of duration left.
This alien space had been severed from the real world. Escape was only possible by destroying the array itself or using a skill capable of interfering with the isolated dimension.
“Shall we make a deal?”
Nadia looked down at the Dark Puppeteer and called out confidently.
The reply came from an unexpected direction.
Shrink
Dragon's Wings
Nadia jerked her head upward.
Red wings filled her vision.
Twenty-meter dragon wings blazed with dark aura.
A man stood arrogantly with arms folded across his chest.
“H-how?!”
Nadia blinked rapidly, eyes wide.
She wondered if she was seeing things. No matter how many times she blinked, Jinho—who should have been erased by Bael—remained perfectly intact.
And that wasn’t all.
The sight of dark aura coiling around those dragon wings sent chills racing across her skin.
An overwhelming output that had already surpassed human limits.
Nadia could manifest an aura blade after receiving her baptism, yet the sight of those wings filled her with instinctive dread.
‘It feels just like standing before Lord Rene…’
Nadia shook her head violently. Simply thinking of Rene Davis filled her with guilt, as though she had committed blasphemy.
She shouted loudly to shake off the unease lodged in her chest.
Eye of Bael, annihilate him!
The artificial god’s pupil tracked Jinho’s every movement.
Vast dark mana shimmered within the crimson iris. The laws of the otherworld twisted providence itself, reshaping into a new form.
All-Encompassing Erosion
Absolute Corruption Domain
The red wings lost their luster.
Baal’s authority dyed all creation in its own color. The dark mana eroded even the otherworld, mercilessly devouring Jinho’s body that had already become a resident of that realm.
The dark aura saturating his wings faded. Jinho’s ascending form merged with the distorted world itself.
The crimson beam that had previously erased entire sections of space had merely separated part of the ‘erosion’ concept. This time it went further—rewriting the very concepts that composed Jinho on contact.
‘There is no way to dodge.’
Nadia was certain of victory.
Deicide
Law of Godslaying
Slash!
The sinister light enveloping Jinho’s entire body was severed.
His flesh, which had been losing form and substance under Baal’s interference only moments ago, regained its original color and restored the warped laws to their proper state.
Deicide—the anti-constellation skill extracted from the essence of the apocalyptic sword Mistilteinn—had activated.
The instant All-Encompassing Erosion distorted the boundaries between matter, space, and energy while corrupting their power, Jinho sliced away the root of that authority with god-slaying force.
Even so, he could not restore the body that had already begun collapsing under Baal’s power.
Melted skin dripped to the ground. The dark aura that had formed his dragon wings scattered wildly, destroying everything it touched.
A violent explosion of power erupted in mid-air. Jinho stood at its center without losing his composure.
The crumbling body turned pitch black. The Body of Darkness.
As it assimilated with the Polar Night bestowed by Nyx, the collapse halted.
“Goddess.”
Nyx merged into Jinho, who had become Polar Night itself. As the goddess who embodied the very concept of night became one with his darkness, Baal’s All-Encompassing Erosion crumbled apart.
Altering laws was a mighty authority even god-king constellations struggled to wield.
The created deity of the otherworld had only been possible through the unique properties of imaginary space combined with traits borrowed from the original Baal. The price for such a miracle was equally enormous.
Day and night—laws that applied even in the otherworld—shattered the providence Baal had twisted.
Blue cracks spiderwebbed across the yellow sclera.
The recoil from the reversed laws had dealt Bael’s Eye a devastating blow.
“N-no way…”
Nadia collapsed where she stood.
The god of the otherworld was the Black Network’s trump card, prepared to annihilate their entire force. Though only partially manifested, its power to erode and rewrite laws had been absolute and irresistible.
Even Rene Davis had never accounted for this worst-case scenario.
“Why? What’s not going your way?”
Jinho mocked Bael’s Eye. The crimson pupil dilated violently, as if it would tear apart.
The pain that had seeped into every cell was beyond description. Experiencing the collapse of boundaries between matter, space, and energy under All-Encompassing Erosion had been nightmarish.
It felt like being ground to powder in a mill, then poured into boiling water and stirred vigorously.
It was only because he had known Baal’s authority from his pre-regression memories that he had endured. Otherwise he would have become just another twisted object in that distorted space without even time to scream.
“All thanks to Mistilteinn.”
The apocalyptic greatsword he had received from Utgarda-Loki. He had devoured it beforehand in preparation for battles against the Old Gods and constellations.
Deicide—the skill that allowed intervention in anything connected to constellations, tangible or not.
The moment he sensed providence twisting, he had activated it and swiftly severed Baal’s interference.
“Yeah. Thanks to that, this should be easy.”
Bael’s Eye was now covered in cracks. Having taken the full recoil of All-Encompassing Erosion, its combat capability had fallen below half.
It clearly hadn’t expected him to possess a great-constellation counter skill.
All-Encompassing Erosion
Great Dimensional Blood Flow
Red rain poured from the sky. Dark mana cascaded from Bael’s Eye, each droplet carrying the concept of erosion that would corrupt anything it touched.
“It’s in that state. Using mana as a medium is probably the best it can manage.”
Even so, he could not relax. Thousands of raindrops fell from above. A single touch would cause rotting and corrosion, stripping away form itself.
Releasing Memorized Magic — Solar Explosion
Releasing Memorized Magic — Avalanche
The moment the two orbs collided, he triggered Eclipse. The repulsive force generated by the clash of extreme yang and extreme yin mana was pushed to its limit.
Brilliant light blanketed the warped landscape. Although the Void Realm Otherworld Temple had drastically reduced the explosion’s power—
Chiiiiik—!
It was more than enough to repel the red rain.
In the momentary gap created by the blast—
He had already used Blink to evade the crimson beam and Shrink to close distance. Both skills were now on cooldown, but that was fine.
In moments like this, he simply had to run.
Wind Path
He kicked off the air and leaped once more, crossing the gap created by Eclipse in a single burst and drawing closer to Bael’s Eye.
The distance had shrunk to almost nothing. He could reach it in one or two seconds.
As the destructive light faded, the red rain resumed. Just a little short—
Thunder Obstruction Art — Thunder Net
Kwarurung!
A net woven from dozens of layers of lightning bound Bael’s dark mana. The Thunder Net blocked the red rain like an umbrella. This was sufficient.
Stepping through the air with Wind Path, he concentrated internal energy into his palm.
Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts — 14th Form
Tao Tie Horn
The rotating energy in his palm burst outward in a wide arc. The lightning net that had been blocking the red rain disintegrated. In that instant, the spreading force pushed back every drop of Bael’s dark mana falling from above.
Jjeoeoeoeong!
The fiercely spinning energy swept straight through Bael’s Eye.
The god created in the otherworld screamed. Though it had no mouth, the agony transmitted through pure thought shook the entire Void Realm Otherworld Temple.
Crack… craaack…
The cracks born from the shattering of All-Encompassing Erosion multiplied several times over. Bael’s Eye slowly sank.
It had sustained damage beyond its limits and could no longer remain.
Although the array had manifested the otherworld, the replication was imperfect. Bael was merely a god created by Klyphoth. Since it was not a true constellation, its existential power was incomplete.
The yellow sclera shattered and fell to the ground like broken glass.
I approached Bael’s Eye wrapped in protective energy.
“Yeah. Time to devour it.”
Only the eye had been summoned into the Void Realm Otherworld Temple. Devouring it would not grant all of Baal’s powers. Still, it was fortunate there weren’t too many essences to consume. A fake constellation created through the otherworld’s traits would still register as A- to S-rank by the Tower’s standards. Eating too much would have given him a stomachache.
Since this was an essence he had never managed to devour in his previous life, he was genuinely curious what ability it would yield.
The moment he touched the collapsing eye, searing heat pierced his palm. Intense fury. Even as it was being reverse-summoned, the god of the otherworld raged.
“So what?”
I’ve endured far worse before the regression. I even had my heart pierced by a former constellation. Mere thought waves mean nothing.
◈ Devoured: 3.2%
◈ Devoured: 7.5%
◈ …
Even if fake, it was still a constellation in name. The devouring process took time.
“Strike while it’s stopped!”
A sharp voice rang in his ear. Nadia. She sounded thoroughly flustered.
“Goddess.”
“I’ll even attach some subordinates for you.”
Deus Ex Machina
The manifested Nyx and the mechanical god created by replicating her form simultaneously unleashed Polar Night.
Some time later, Bael’s Eye closed completely and its essence fully permeated his body.
The Blessing of All-Encompassing Erosion has permeated your body.
An essence he had never obtained before the regression. Jinho calmly examined the new abilities gained from devouring Bael’s essence.